Student Blogs

‘Twas the Night Before Finals

The Fall semester is finally over and only one semester of classes remains. Overall I found this semester very relaxed and clinically applicable. Much of what we learned was focused on refining our skills and building on our previous knowledge base and I enjoyed all of my classes and my clinic placement immensely. My clinic assignment this semester consisted of one full day of clinic and I feel I’ve improved in speed and technique.

Although I wish I could relax and avoid anything school related, the reality is that preparations for Part 1 of board exams requires a daily study schedule. So far it has not been an easy task with so many holiday related distractions! Hopefully when I return to school for the spring semester I will be well rested and more confident about some of the material that will be on board exams.

In honor of this holiday season, I decided to dedicate the rest of this blog to a holiday poem about final exams and finishing another semester at NECO. Enjoy!

Twas the Night Before Finals

Twas the night before finals and all through the college,
The students were silently hoping for knowledge.
Their papers and notes were highlighted with care,
In hopes they’d survive this stressful affair.
The students tried dreaming of freedom and beds,
But ocular quandaries still buzzed in their heads.
Just fueled by coffee and utter will power,
They readied themselves for the term’s final hour.

The finals crept closer and tensions grew steep.
To finish this chapter or just go to sleep?
But amidst all the worry and cold winter weather,
They knew that at least they were in this together.
And all of the students would wholly agree,
That finals are worth it to get that OD degree!

I wish to the first years, just starting their quest,
The OD2’s busy and needing some rest,
The third years, my classmates, with Boards round the bend,
And finally the fourth years, now nearing the end.
Have a great winter break even if there is snow,
And see you all soon back at good ol’ NECO.

Maria is a Canadian student in her final year of the four year OD/MS dual degree program. For her MS project, she is working with Dr. Vera-Diaz and Dr. Panorgias examining color vision and early age-related macular degeneration.